Is Reno family friendly (Las Vegas, Henderson: environment, apartment, income)

[saywhuut]

I need some help everyone..i have a job offer to move to nevada either Reno or las vegas (from what im reading, i'm hoping i dont have to go to Las Vegas to live and raise my children there). what is it like in Reno in terms of raising children and having a family. i know its losing the "small town" feeling but coming from the east coast thats something ive never experienced anyways. in terms of schooling, safety, and just a healthy environment is reno good? what about outlying suberbs, are they affordable on average income..will be startin around 35-36k then moving up quickly to 60k a year. also is the airport right in Reno, or does it lay in the outskirts? thats where i may be working


it seems las vegas area is just a no go for raising families and married life. it seems that Henderson is the most reasonable place that is far but not too far for a commute to the city for work


thanks for the help!

[greatbasinguide]

mmm South Reno, Double Diamond may work, Think of Reno Sparks as one town,, as they are, basicallly. Northwest Reno is good, Northeast Sparks is good. at 35K you might want to look at Fernley,, bit of a drive but cheapers.

The airport is in Central Reno.. If you are going to work there, I would think about south Reno,, not much worse in the US than 395 south into town in the morning and north out of town in the afternoon.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by saywhuut

I need some help everyone..i have a job offer to move to nevada either Reno or las vegas (from what im reading, i'm hoping i dont have to go to Las Vegas to live and raise my children there). what is it like in Reno in terms of raising children and having a family. i know its losing the "small town" feeling but coming from the east coast thats something ive never experienced anyways. in terms of schooling, safety, and just a healthy environment is reno good? what about outlying suberbs, are they affordable on average income..will be startin around 35-36k then moving up quickly to 60k a year. also is the airport right in Reno, or does it lay in the outskirts? thats where i may be working


it seems las vegas area is just a no go for raising families and married life. it seems that Henderson is the most reasonable place that is far but not too far for a commute to the city for work


thanks for the help!

This list is generally filled with rather misleading views of Nevada. Kind of weird..

In terms of housing costs Reno/Sparks is substantially more expensive than Las Vegas. About 11% on the median home. And the stock in Reno Sparks is older than that in Vegas so it is actually worse than the 11% indicates.

You can of course move more rural than Reno and save a good bit of money. But that means a long commute and weak schools.

At 36K you are likely a renter in any community. As you come up you would be able to buy much quicker in Las Vegas then in Reno.

Given that you go to a reasonable suburban neighborhood you will be unable to tell the difference on crime between Reno and Las Vegas. The bottom of Las Vegas is worse than the bottom of Reno...but I don't think you want to live there. Similar neighborhoods in the two cities have similar crime.

There are dozens and dozens of neighborhoods, including some quite close to the central city in Las Vegas which are interchangable with their Henderson equivalent.

There are differentiators...if you can't stand summer heat you don't want to go to Las Vegas. If you can't stand winter cold...don't go to Reno. Costs of living are similar...just a little higher in Reno. There are reasonable rural areas around Reno...there are none around Las Vegas. Traffic is significantly less in Reno...but the commute may well be longer.

It all breaks down to Reno is a smaller Nevada city. Las Vegas is a much bigger one. What turns you on.

[catpiperx]

Well I guess I'll add my 2 cents worth--I lived in BOTH cities! We moved to Las Vegas in 1995-lived there for 4 years--we were told that the average person stays about 5 years then gets out of Vegas! My husband worked in the entertainment field(Music Director)and loved the "glitz & glam" of his job--our oldest daughter went to a great school( we lived in the Lakes area(very nice area)and I worked for Citibank(best job I ever had--on site childcare, great "Mom" hours etc!)--the heat was EXTREME-especially since we had moved from Santa Barbara area to the desert---it was rough at first, but you got used to it and we had a great life--but it did get hard after a few years--the crime, heat, people, etc. I knew that I didn't want our daughter growing up there---

Reno--never liked it--we were there when our youngest was born-and stayed 15 months(due to husband's job)for us it wasn't "family" friendly either---both cities are geared to gambling and adult things--no matter how you look at it--I found that the people were "odd" in both places and they are transient towns---it's "ok" for a few years--my oldest daughter went to a Charter School in Reno because I wasn't thrilled w/the school district---and if you like extreme weather--the Reno area is for you---like I hear the folks say about Colorado(which is where we are trying to go next)"if you don't like the weather wait 15 minutes!"

Reno does get hot in summer-not NEARLY as hot as Vegas---there are "freak" storms and of course there is snow--in fact the first winter we were there-was the WORST they had had in 10 years(figures!)

All in all---it wasn't the worst experience--I just know that I wouldn't go back to live----either place---I'm in a different place in my life and the "fun glitzy stuff" is just that!

Good luck on either move

[greatbasinguide]

Reno is fine,, lots of sports for kids, soccer, baseball, football is big, good facilities. There is more hiking and mountain biking and dirt biking and horse riding country than you could cover in a life time.

Maybe the largest collection of ski lifts in the country, the Reno Rec department owns a ski area and has great inexpensive classes. Lake Tahoe of course, is Lake Tahoe..

The School District is like all school districts it is the teacher your child has that makes the difference.

4x4 might be needed 7 days out of the year.

Like all towns what you make of it it what it is. The good thing about Reno that sets it apart from most American Cities is the great outdoors. If you are not an outdoors person, might as well stay where you are. If a 20 pound trout appeals to you... go for it.

[olecapt]

While I too like the great out doors...if you move to Reno to catch 20 lb trout you should consider having your head examined.

That is right up there with moving to Vegas because you are going to win the World Series of Poker...

There are vastly better criteria for any move...

[greatbasinguide]

Nice to see you have a well developed sense of humor

[jaada]

Originally Posted by saywhuut

I need some help everyone..i have a job offer to move to nevada either Reno or las vegas (from what im reading, i'm hoping i dont have to go to Las Vegas to live and raise my children there). what is it like in Reno in terms of raising children and having a family. i know its losing the "small town" feeling but coming from the east coast thats something ive never experienced anyways. in terms of schooling, safety, and just a healthy environment is reno good? what about outlying suberbs, are they affordable on average income..will be startin around 35-36k then moving up quickly to 60k a year. also is the airport right in Reno, or does it lay in the outskirts? thats where i may be working


it seems las vegas area is just a no go for raising families and married life. it seems that Henderson is the most reasonable place that is far but not too far for a commute to the city for work


thanks for the help!

reno would be a much better place for you to go-my sister lived in vegas and its way to crazy there i dont like big cities though. reno is big and crowded but there is alot to do, and no you dont need a four wheel drive year round there i lived all over nevada and didnt have a four wheel drive.

[BobKovacs]

While Reno would win hands down in terms of being more family-oriented than Vegas, you still have to remember that gambling is a huge source of the city's existence, so it's EVERYWHERE.

Also, as already said, at $35k/year, you're going to have a tough time getting anything other than a marginal apartment, especially if you've got kids to feed, clothe, etc.

Bob

[Synopsis]

I lived in Reno some time ago and I really miss it. I loved the low humidity, beautiful scenery, and nice summers. As I recall, it would generally get up to about 92 in the day and cool down at night to a nice, comfortable 53 degrees or so (sometimes even down into the 40s). And the 92 degree high felt much cooler because of the low, low humidity. Winters weren't that cold in Reno; cold, yes, but no worse than a midwestern city like Kansas City. Love those mountains and Lake Tahoe is absolutely stunning. I will always hold a special place in my heart for Reno.